Words From a Soul
by PixelEm
Summary: (Warning: Spoilers for Take Off the Mask) A month after his untimely death, he figured it was high time he checked on his favorite bunny. (AU)


**WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR** _ **TAKE OFF THE MASK**_ **. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THAT FIC YET PLEASE DO THAT BEFORE CHECKING THIS OUT PLEASE.**

 **Alright, now that that's out of the way – hello all you wonderful people, it's Pixel again :3 Welcome to the one-off bonus story for my other Zootopia fic,** _ **Take Off the Mask!**_

 **Firstly, thanks again to everyone who stuck with my other story. You guys and your support really makes me want to plow through these bouts of writer's block :)**

 **Second of all, the inspiration for this one-shot came to me after I saw a lot of people in the reviews wondering if the main story would feature a ghost Nick. Now, while I really didn't think that would make a lot of sense from Judy's point of view, I still thought it was an interesting idea. So to the two anons who wanted to see ghosty Nick, this story is for you :3**

 **Okay, I'll hush now. Please enjoy! :D**

 **DISCLAIMER: I'm so sorry Disney, but you probably didn't read the other disclaimers on every single fic I've ever written – I DON'T OWN** _ **YOUR**_ **MOVIES.**

She has no idea that I'm here.

I know I should've expected that. I never really believed all that junk about sensing someone's spirit anyway. Still, with how much she seems to really miss me, not to mention the fact that she's standing in front of my memorial – I half-expect her to look around, calling for me.

Judy just showed up here, in front of the Police Department. Now she's started talking to this fox kid, who's kneeling just in front of the memorial. I've seen the thing a lot before – heck, I _watched_ them when they first started putting it together. That doesn't stop me from grinning and arching an eyebrow at my own cocky photo.

 _"Well then,"_ I can't help but think, _"Turns out all I had to do was die._ Then _I get respected."_

Immediately after I think it I grimace, my ears flattening to the back of my head. On instinct I put a paw over my heart, where I feel the expected pang.

I can't really remember what it was like going savage. I just remember when that lamb shot me. I remember how panicked I was, how desperate I was to get that powder off of me – and then –

It still makes me shiver. The feeling I got when it started to seep into my fur. It was like…

It felt like I was being pinned down. Forced into a damn muzzle again.

Everything's pretty blurry after that. As soon as the flower took over I didn't feel anything. I couldn't see anything.

But I can definitely remember feeling that… that _bullet_ …

I wince, pressing my paw to my left temple. I can still recall the force of it driving through me, the burning pain that followed.

And then the pain shut off. I felt way lighter, couldn't feel any of my surroundings anymore.

It's kinda weird, but somehow I immediately got that I was dead.

…But really, I'm happy that I can't remember what happed in between. Who wants to remember almost killing your best friend?

Judy winces then, cutting through my thoughts and bringing me back to reality. She's standing up again, her ears drooping as she stares down at the little fox. And as for that little fox, he's pulling down on the ripped edge of his shirt collar, showing her a series of scars on his throat.

"Everyone at school thought predators were bad," the kid's telling her, "They said they were going to start putting collars on me and my family 'cause we're foxes, and then the collars would shock us if we attacked anyone! They said they already had a collar for me. They tried to put it on me."

Judy shakes her head and sighs. "That's horrible."

" _Man, I'll say..."_ My fur bristles, and I rub my own neck at the thought. Somehow, being forced into a muzzle doesn't seem nearly as bad as having an electrocuting collar strapped to your throat.

In response to Judy's statement, the kid nods as he smooths out his shirt. "I know! I never hurt anyone!" Then he whips back around, facing my memorial again. And I see the smile spreading across his snout.

He reaches out to touch my picture.

"But then I heard about Nick, and everyone left me alone!" he cries, "He was just like me! I wish I knew him."

Judy chuckles and kneels next to him. And I swear, her voice is dripping with affection as she says:

"Y-Yeah… H-He… He would've really liked you…"

I grin.

 _"You_ definitely _know me way too well, bunny…"_

Actually, that's something that really astonishes me. She's only known me for a couple months, and when she first really got to know me, it felt like she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.

And yet she's the one who gets me. She's the one who understood. She'd seen too much of my own situation in her own life. She just _knew_ me.

As much as I don't really like to admit it, she's the only one I ever told my whole story to.

I know I should've spoken up about it way sooner to someone. Hell, I never even told my own _mom_ the whole story. I just told her that I wasn't going to try Junior Ranger Scouts anymore, that all of a sudden I was really interested in plenty of other things. That was it. No mention of muzzles or stupid prey bullies.

I wouldn't say I was afraid of talking about it. It was just… at that point, I'd figured I was better off staying a shifty, untrustworthy predator. I looked at everyone and figured they wouldn't listen. Who'd listen to a fox like me, huh? I mean, that part of me was enough to get me kicked out of Ranger Scouts. Why would _any_ one give the time to listen to me?

But I watched that Bogo guy chew her out. I watched her almost give up her badge, just because that bull thought she was just another meek, paranoid rabbit who couldn't hold a job that wasn't carrot farming even if you paid her.

I just… I just couldn't stand watching what _I'd_ experienced… happen to someone else. Who cares if we were really vastly different? In that moment, I could still see way too much of myself in her.

Since I saw myself in her, I finally figured I should tell someone. Even if she didn't believe me or if she gave me an odd look, I couldn't worry too much. We were going to split up after her case was closed anyway. I had nothing to lose.

But she listened. She looked at me like she'd known me since birth, held onto my arm like she actually _wanted_ to help me, _wanted_ to care about me.

What I wouldn't give to be alive again, even for a few seconds. Because then I could give her a hug, reassure her, be with my best _friend_ once more.

Judy carries on staring at the memorial, along with the fox kid. Neither of them say a word.

Then, finally breaking the silence, the kid drops a bomb:

"Did you love him?"

Well. I did not see _that_ one coming.

Judy reacts appropriately. Her ears spring straight up as she yelps, shooting the kid a shocked look. "I… What'd you just say?"

The kid blinks at her, completely innocent. "I don't mean you wanted to marry him," he says, "You called him your best friend, and you started to cry when you talked about him. And _I_ say I love _my_ friends, especially my best friend.

"So… did you love him?"

Judy stares at him, her ears falling back down again. She looks back at my photo – and she visibly relaxes.

"Well…" she says, "…when I first met him, he was not very 'fun'…but once I got to know him…"

She nods.

""…Yeah… I _did_ love him…"

Once again. Would do absolutely _anything_ to be alive right now.

After the kid says his goodbye and runs off, Judy keeps staring at the memorial. I wait for her to bounce up the steps, waltz into the Police Department just as excited as she was when she first got the news that she was fit to go back to work. But she doesn't.

Instead she sighs, her ears somehow drooping even further. She shakes her head.

And she speaks. To _me._

"Well, Nick. Here I am." Her voice is so soft I have to strain my ears just to hear her. "I finally made it. Bet you're wishing you could be sitting with me in the meeting room, aren't you?"

Rather than laughing at her own joke, she just winces again. She shakes her head rougher.

"…S-Sorry… That was dumb…" She starts over, "A-Anyway, yeah. Today's my first day back at work. Gotta… Gotta make up for lost time. Can't go on any barefoot scurries anymore, though. My leg's not exactly… up to snuff, as the doctor said."

She pauses for a moment. It's like she's waiting for me to respond, to reassure her in some way. If I could, I would.

Then she sighs again. A little smile spreads across her cheeks. It might just be my imagination at work, but I can almost hear her sniff.

"…I… I told myself I was gonna stop crying over you…" she whispers. God, she's adorable. (Wait, maybe I shouldn't say that. She hated me calling her cute, and that pretty much means the same thing.)

"…But… God, this is so cheesy…" she continues, standing up, "…I… I wasn't kidding when I told that kid how much I cared about you…"

My chest warms up. I smile and take one step forward.

"And if it wasn't for you and me and Finnick, I think… I think things would be worse. Preds like you would never stop getting grief. Not bad for a dumb bunny, huh?"

I wander closer to her, until I'm standing just behind her.

"I…" I can practically hear the tears in her voice. So much for quitting crying over me. Like it bothered me anyway. "I… I hope you're proud of us, Nick…"

I know she doesn't know I'm here. I know she can never know that I can see her. But I still run my paw over her ears, as if to comfort her.

"…I hope you're proud of _me…."_

I am, Judy. I am.

 **And there you have it! Sorry if this wasn't really the longest thing in the world – I just didn't think something like this could be stretched out too much.**

 **Actually, here's a question for all you reviewers: does Nick's first-person voice sound like him? Is he completely in-character? Cause I'd really like to know how I'm doing writing first-person POVs :)**

 **Anyways, thank you all for checking out this follow up! Until my next story!**

 **~Pixel**


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